If it’s not on the internet, it doesn’t exist.  It becomes truer each day that with Google and other search engines, consumers can find most anything they’re looking for…if they know where to look.

Improving the effectiveness of digital marketing strategies, including SEO, Social Media and SEM campaigns, will increase visibility, allowing more potential customers and visitors to find your community and attractions.

The challenge for CVB leaders is that there is so much competition for the consumers’ attention as they dream about and plan their vacation.

How do you compete when other areas and attractions are spending more to influence and divert the consumer to plan their vacation somewhere else, and you have limited marketing resources?

A well-defined and cohesive digital marketing strategy

To achieve the goal of boosting visitation by influencing potential demand requires more than just having a good product. It is dependent on understanding how best to use the complex, dynamic nature of digital marketing, the social distribution of content and the nuances of keywords in intent-based search, so that your digital marketing is aligned to create synergies and deliver results.

Strategically enhance online reputation in Social Media

Online reputation is another area that has been influenced by digital marketing. Customers are willing to pay more and travel further for an experience they perceive to be better. This has a direct influence on pricing, inclination to visit and retention of repeat visitors for tourism products. One of the best economic investments for any CVB is to take steps to really understand and benchmark its area’s online reputation in social media and strategically deliver even better content and engagement consistently. Social media is a dynamic environment that needs creative and consistent attention.

Update website and apps so they easier to use

Digital marketing improvements not only impacts the search and discovery process, but should also make your website and apps easier to use.  You are investing to increase your area’s visibility, causing potential demand to grow, so be sure that your website and apps are welcoming on any device the consumer uses, especially mobile, and deliver results not just pageviews.

The direct visibility that an area or its attractions, hotels, or restaurants enjoys by being listed high in the search engines has a direct impact on the bottom line. And your members—the hotel revenue managers— know that the CVB’s success will be one of the key factors in improving their occupancy rates. In 2015, most searches for hotel bookings were done on mobile devices (53%) followed by computers (39%).

You can’t sell anything to a customer who can’t find you!